"I think the happiest day of my life was when I realized I was putting books in the hands of children..."

Indulge Yourself. Treat A Friend. Pamper A Relative. See Why He's Still The Talk Of The Town. Purchase A Gift Certificate With Shawn Today!

How does he find time to do hair?

Shawn Smith, 30, has built the largest salon and spa in Charlotte Harbor – while attracting 147 pre-school kidsto his Dolly Parton Imagination Library (the kids get a free book every month, fitting their age). Also, he’s working onmuscular dystrophy, AIDS, breast cancer, the Charlotte Players theatre (for which he persuaded a friend to donate freshlumber to build a new stage. Charlotte Players, Inc., whose executive director is Sherrie Moody, is partnered with Smithin sponsoring the Imagination Library).And – take a breath now – he also heads a group of 15 hair stylists and spa people, and personally handles morethan 400 clients of his own. The salon has attracted some 3700 clients so far, he reports. And also, he tends to arelationship with a significant other, Shawn (yes, they have the same first name) Foglio. All they haven’t done is adoptsome kids of their own. Yet.Shawn Smith’s father is a Church of God preacherin Eastern Tennessee – Dollywood country, in the regionoccupied by Knoxville and Chattanooga. The family isdeep in hair salons, with outposts of one family memberor another in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Cedar Bluff … andas of three years ago, in Port Charlotte.Coming from Eastern Tennessee, he casually uses theword “Mamaw” to mean his late grandmother (it’s asouthern U.S. usage). She and the rest of the family hada strong influence on his career as a hair and spa owner.But Mamaw couldn’t write her name until Shawn taughther how to sign “Susie.”With all those roots in Tennessee, how did he happento come to Southwest Florida? Dolly Parton had aninfluence there. “She says,” Shawn relates, “that you mustmove a thousand miles from home to learn anything.”Port Charlotte is the beneficiary. He comments about thepowerful Ms. Parton, “10 minutes with Dolly Parton feelslike all day.”His business in Port Charlotte is called “Hair by Shawnand Company Salon and Spa” and it’s headquarteredat 4678 Tamiami Trail, Unit 107, Port Charlotte. “I’vealways done hair,” he says, thanks to the family’smultiple salons. “I say I teethed on a perm rod.”For the Imagination Library, which he launched inJanuary of this year, his target is to enroll every preschoolerin Charlotte County. Eligible ages are frombirth to five. The library consists of 60 volumes, and theshipments begin with “The Little Engine That Could.” It’sall free to the famlies, and there are several individualssponsoring the gifts for kids. Some donors do $25 forone child for a year, and some invest $125 to sponsorfor all five years. Shawn worked out the local programin cooperation with Christy Crouse of the DollywoodFoundation.Says the Foundation, “There is ample research tosupport early literacy … the key to success in school andbeyond is developing proficient reading skills. One of themost important things a parent can do to develop theseskills is to read with their child as much as possible.”And the payoff is the warmth that comes when a childpleads, “Read it again, Mommy!”

Stirring kids' imaginations in Charlotte County

by Laura A. Schmid

Shawn Smith is on a mission to get children to read.The soft-spoken, Southern-drawling Tennessee native was shocked when he arrived in Port Charlotte and found out that Dolly Parton’s popular Imagination Library, which was started in his home state in 1996, does not have a chapter in Charlotte County.So he decided to start it up himself, on top of managing his new salon, Hair by Shawn and Company Salon and Spa, which opened in Charlotte Harbor this past year.I met with Smith recently as he explained the Imagination Library to me. Make no mistake — Smith is passionate about the Imagination Library, which he has seen for himself bring positive results and improved literacy.“It would put a book in every child’s hands who signs up,” Smith explained. “It wasn’t something I planned on doing. It was something I did out of emotion.”But he needs a partner.As part of Parton’s “replication” policy, as the “local champion,” Smith is required to have a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to collaborate with to distribute the book.Here’s how Imagination Library works: Starting at birth, each preschool-age child — regardless of family income — is mailed a “high-quality, age-appropriate” book directly to her or his own home, according to the website imaginationlibrary.com. The books are picked carefully by parents, teachers, librarians, child development specialists and literacy experts, according to an Imagination Library brochure.The child builds her own library and, hopefully, a love of reading. Starting at such a young age also is designed to encourage parents to spend time reading to children, which helps to result in positive association with reading.“It’s personal to me,” Smith said. “My grandmother a mountain woman, (who came from a family of sharecroppers) only had a third-grade education. The Bible was the only book they read.”Smith relates to Dolly Parton’s urge to start Imagination Library because her own father couldn’t read.Through the course of his career, Smith said he has met many people who were closet-case illiterates.“You would be surprised,” said a dismayed Smith.While Smith has put down the initial 10 percent of the money required to start the Charlotte County Imagination Library, he will also have to raise $5,000 every five years to keep the program. He said this works out to $2.08 a book.He plans a fundraiser in 2012 to raise funds, but needs to find a local nonprofit who will help him with getting books shipped here and distributed.If you or your nonprofit group are interested in working with Smith, call him at his salon, 941-625-0060, or email him at hairstylistshawn@gmail.com.

Southern Charm and Hair, Shawn Style

By SHIRLEY GEORGE

Local ‍hair stylist ‍Shawn Smith was raised in the Smoky Mountains in eastern Tenn., the youngest of seven children. His oldest sister, Sharon McMurry, already owned a ‍hair salon when Smith was just 1 year old. “I inherited my creativity from my sister, ‍and faith, morality ‍and ‍southern hospitality from my Mamaw (grandmother),” Smith said. “All of my siblings are professionals that include ‍hair stylists, educators ‍and politicians.” While vacationing in Charlotte County in 2009, Smith claims he thought the area looked like the communities in Tennessee before the now-famous Dollywood was built. “I felt that if I could get here early, I could have the same opportunity as my sister ‍and open my own ‍hairsalon,” Smith said. “I saw potential for my business here.” Three weeks after returning to Tennessee, Smith heard a speech by Dolly Parton. She said, “You have to move at least 1,000 miles away (from home) to learn something.” Although the mileage was somewhat less, Smith moved to Port Charlotte three weeks later. He worked in an area ‍hairsalon, ‍and soon word spread about the ‍Southern gentlemen with exceptional stylist skills ‍and good manners. Smith’s dream of owning his own business became a reality. ‍Hair by ‍Shawn ‍and Company Salon ‍and Spa opened in August at 4678 Tamiami Trail, Unit 107, just south of Kings Way off U.S. Highway 41 in Charlotte Harbor. “It all happened so fast,” Smith said. “When I got back from a nine-day sabbatical in Tennessee, a broker who was one of my first clients in Port Charlotte, had left several urgent messages that she found a perfect venue. Four days later, I bought my business.” He added, “I didn’t know anyone when I came here. In a short time, I had hundreds of friends, most of them I met through my clients. I feel extremely blessed with my clientele, who are from all walks of life, ‍and who encouraged me to open my business.” If you’re looking for a way to pamper yourself, look no further than this new venue. The salon ‍and spa has seven ‍hair stylists (stations available for five more), a master nail technician (station for one more), one esthetician, two massage therapists ‍and one permanent makeup artist. With the approaching holidays, consider a gift card for a loved one or special friend. The contemporary décor, state-of-the-art equipment ‍and friendly environment contribute to the utmost professional services for every client. The salon ‍and spa use only top-quality products. While you’re having a ‍hair ‍style, pedicure or just want a cup of java, a Mercer’s Fresh Roasted Coffee bar is available in the salon. Smith attributes his success to good role models like his sister Sharon, ‍and his former employer, Ross Badgett, owner of Ross the Boss ‍and Company Salon ‍and Spa, in Knoxville, Tenn. “I was salon coordinator for three years for 29 ‍hair stylists ‍and 14 spa technicians. I did everything from the creative to the business end, ‍and everything in between,” Smith said. Smith ‍and Sharon ‍styled ‍hair for performers of touring shows such as “Steel Magnolias,” “Hansel ‍and Gretel” ‍and“Dracula,” in Knoxville, Chattanooga ‍and Atlanta. As much as his busy schedule allows, Smith attends ‍hair shows ‍and continuing education classes. Just as he learned that moving to Florida was his destiny, Smith continues to learn new techniques to better serve his clients. “Let me offer you a better day” is Smith’s mantra. Even if you’re having a good day, Smith promises that any service at his new salon ‍and spa will make it better. Business hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Walk-ins are welcome. Sunday, Monday, ‍andevenings after 5 p.m. are by appointment only. Call 941-625-0060 to schedule an appointment.Shirley George Correspondent Shirley George is a freelance writer. Contact her at sageorgepa@yahoo . com.

Children reading, thanks to Parton

By BETSY WILLIAMSCorrespondent

Published: Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 9:22 a.m.

Because of the passion and efforts of Shawn Smith, Charlotte County now has a chapter of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library that promotes early literacy from birth through age 5.FactsINTERESTED?The Imagination Library Charlotte Chapter will be a part of the Nonprofit Night during the Thursday night Gallery Walk tonight in downtown Punta Gorda.For more information, or to make a donation, contact Shawn Smith at 625-0060 or hairstylistshawn@gmail.com or Sherrie Moody at 255-1022 or charlotteplayers@comcast.net."The proudest day of my life was finalizing the contracts between myself, Sherrie Moody of Charlotte Players Inc. and Dolly," Smith, 28, said after leaving the Charlotte Players office in Port Charlotte, where Moody and Smith faxed the signed contracts to the Dolly Foundation."Before you know it, we will be registering the kids and books will be arriving," Smith said. "Of course, now we have to raise the money to buy the books."To start the local chapter, Smith organized a fundraising prize drawing in conjunction with the grand opening of his business, Shawn and Company Salon & Spa, in Charlotte Harbor.The rest of the start-up funds, a 10 percent down payment to sponsor 5,600 children younger than 5 in Charlotte County, came from two donors, Lee Rhodes and Debra McMullen, with Smith contributing the balance. Now, $20,000 more is needed to kick off the program and fund its first year.The annual cost per child is $25. Each registered child will receive a book a month, sent to their home, starting at birth until they attend kindergarten."We find that we can only work with children from the third grade and up in performance arts due to their reading ability not being proficient enough," said Moody, the Players' executive director. "We believe Smith's program will be the catalyst to allow us to work with a much younger age group at Charlotte Players Inc."The nonprofit Charlotte Players and Smith will collaborate to distribute the books and raise money to support the literacy program."We have and support many youth programs throughout the county," Moody said. "This one is a given for us. If our actors could not read, where would theater be? We have already started making plans for promotions and fundraising."Smith said he already is receiving favorable responses from people who want to help provide books to children."Everyone I meet wants to help," Smith said. "We are already receiving sizable donations from clients just within the salon and spa in an effort to kick it off and to get books to kids. But, of coarse, this will be an ongoing effort to keep the program going."In 1996, Parton launched Imagination Library to benefit children of her home county in East Tennessee. By providing preschool children and their families with an age-appropriate book each month, Parton hoped to "foster a love of reading" at an early age..Smith was born and raised in East Tennessee, in the same county as Parton."She was the first celebrity I ever met," Smith said. "I was only 13, so it's no wonder I became so fascinated with this great lady."When Parton recently was on a concert tour in Florida, Smith attended three of her concerts, Sarasota, Fort Myers and Miami."In all, I have seen Ms. Parton perform 17 times, met with her almost double that through charity events, Dollywood, concerts and mutual acquaintances," Smith said. "It's been a great pleasure and honor throughout my life."Like Parton, Smith knows what it means to have a family member who cannot read. Parton's father was illiterate, and Smith's grandmother learned only enough to read parts of the Bible."I have friends that are very close to my heart that are illiterate," Smith said. "Every person, especially every child, deserves the right to read. The Imagination Library helps boost their reading skills."